Posts Tagged ‘beneteau 40.7’

Speaking of keels, Chartered Surveyor E.S. Geary says the Cheeki Rafiki tragedy wasn’t an accident, and that someone needs to be held accountable for playing a big part in the deaths of four sailors. We’ll hold off until we hear the report from the MAIB, but we’re not disagreeing…more from Captain Geary:

At the moment the loss of the vessel is viewed and has been reported as an unfortunate accident – it wasn’t an accident.

The tragic death of the four crew and loss of the yacht was a result of third party incompetence and negligence and was preventable. Those who were responsible and negligent in the proper care and maintenance of the vessel should be indentified and held accountable to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again. Having recently dealt with a number of claims on behalf London underwriters with similar deficiencies I believe the cause of this tragedy is obvious.

The skipper’s first message reported the yacht was taking on water and requested the owners permission to divert to the Azores; he didn’t report striking anything. It’s apparent that the ingress of water reported by the skipper was experienced and began as the keel bolts lost integrity. The keel bolts were loose and leaking water as evidenced by the rust stains on the apertures which could have resulted from corrosion or metal fatigue; their ultimate failure allowed the keel to separate from the hull. Tightened keel bolts don’t fail, loose ones do. When total failure occurred the keel fell free causing the superficial damage to the hull laminates amidships. The damage, limited to the hull/keel join (amidships), is displayed in the photo below.

With a locator beacon being placed on the hull it could be recovered, but the keel will never be found. Unless it loses its buoyancy, the hull will continue in the prevailing currents towards Ireland and could, if necessary in subsequent litigation, be salvaged, though there’s no evidence to support their theory some ‘experts’ have speculated that the keel may have struck a semi-submerged object such as a container. With no impact damage to the hull there is no basis to support this theory.

However, whether the keel struck anything is irrelevant considering the undamaged hull and the undamaged apertures of the forward and aft keel bolts; their clean separation indicates the keel bolts were structurally unsound.

During the 640 nm voyage north the approximately 3500 kg keel was only partially held against the flat hull surface by the defective keel bolts which initially allowed to keel to move with a limited ingress of water. Unknown to the crew because of the sea state and parametric rolling which would have aggravated and accelerated ultimate failure, the keel would have experienced a slow swinging motion before it eventually dropped from the hull.

The inverted hull of the Cheeki Rafiki was found and the photo silently speaks volumes confirming the keel bolt failure that led to the loss of the keel and the rise of the VCG that resulted in the immediate capsizing of the vessel. The crew were experienced sailors so they would have been wearing life-vests, safety lines and in that area of the Atlantic probably were also wearing TPA’s (Thermal Suits). When the keel parted from the hull at night in the turbulent seas and fierce winds the four man crew would have had little time to avoid being dragged under by the sails and/or standing rigging when the immediate change of the VCG caused the hull to roll. It’s possible, but sadly I doubt the bodies will ever be recovered.

Having recently completed a survey with a similar problem, the life-raft didn’t inflate because the painter was improperly secured. If a life-raft painter line is loose or was improperly secured the life-raft won’t activate, can’t deploy and goes down with the vessel. Which is exactly what happened in this case.

This tragedy should not have happened. Through no fault of the crew the Cheeki Rafiki was sent to sea in an unseaworthy condition and those responsible should be held accountable. The families of the victim’s have a right to know of the unseaworthiness and that their loved ones paid a terrible price and died because of the gross negligence of others.

MONDAY MORNING UPDATE: This is some heartbreaking shit, and we just don’t understand why the USCG would end the search so abruptly, despite the upside-down hull being likely spotted (though not checked), two personal EPIRBs recorded and a crew and safety equipment that’s been through the Middle Sea, Fastnet, ARC, and Caribbean 600. This is just 600 miles or so from Cape Cod, and if the USCG doesn’t fulfill its responsibilities so close, how can we ask other countries to SAR our sailors when we’re overseas?? Tim Wright photo of the boat from Antigua Sailing Week just a couple of weeks ago.

We remain devastated that the four missing crew from the yacht Cheeki Rafiki, Andrew, James, Paul and Steve have still not been found and that the US Coastguard has suspended the search. We were informed on Sunday that a capsized yacht had been found in the search area by the merchant ship M/V MAERSK KURE. However, the sea state prevented them from closely examining it which is very disappointing but understandable. We remain hopeful that they are in the life raft although conditions have been poor in the Atlantic which would be very challenging for them.

We are working, with the crew’s families, to try and persuade the US Coastguard to resume the search. We are very grateful to the M/V MAERSK KURE which volunteered to remain and continue the search on Sunday until such time as it was stood down in the evening.

The crew of the Beneateau 40.7 Cheeki Rafiki ran into difficulties on Thursday while returning from Antigua Sailing Week. Contact was lost early on Friday as they diverted to the Azores and a coast guard search has been called off.

They are feared to have capsized and abandoned to a life raft, Southampton charter firm Stormforce Coaching said. US and Canadian aircraft and merchant vessels looked for them on Friday and Saturday but have now called off the search, Stormforce director Doug Innes said.

The Royal Yachting Association named the four crew members as Paul Goslin, 56, and Steve Warren, 52, who are both from Somerset, Andrew Bridge, 21, from Farnham, Surrey, and 23-year-old James Male, from Southampton. It described all four as “very experienced offshore yachtsmen”.

They are thought to have been delivering the vessel back after it participated in Antigua Week, regarded as one of the world’s top regattas. Mr Innes said Cheeki Rafiki started taking on water on Thursday. He said: “We were in contact with the skipper and at the time the yacht and crew were keeping the situation stable.

“They had not been able to ascertain where the water ingress was from and were diverting to the Azores. Read on at the BBC News.